Hidden Past
by Insanetrouble
Summary: After he leaves her, Langton gets a phone call saying Anna's been attacked again. At the hospital, an unexpected visitor tells them about Anna's hidden past... and just how much she's been through.


**Hi people! This is an experiment of sorts, so please tell me what you think! Oh, and excuse the abrupt ending, it was getting to long and I was running out of ideas! X**

"Thank you sir." Anna put the phone down, a sinking feeling in the bottom of her stomach. She knew when she'd said it that it was going to kick off, but she hadn't expected it to happen like this.

"Anna?" she turned with a gasp… Langton was standing at her door.

"What're you doing back?" she asked, heart pounding. He tilted his head at her, a quiet fury simmering in his eyes.

"Came back to say sorry for suspecting you. Apparently though, I was right to." Anna opened her mouth, but couldn't think of the words to say. Behind her, the phone rang again and she twisted without thinking, causing waves of agony to shoot up her back. She fell to her knees with a whimper, hitting the floor hard. Breathe coming in gasps, she rode out the pain, vaguely aware of Langton next to her, his hand on her upper arm.

"Anna goddamn it…" he said sharply. She shook her head, and after a while got her breath back.

"Sorry… keep forgetting not to move." She hated how weak her voice sounded. Langton clasped both her elbows in his hands and gently lifted her to her feet, trying not to strain her back.

"Thank you." She said softly, aware of just how close they were standing. He swallowed, and nodded.

"How bad is it?" he inclined his head at her briefly, and she shrugged, before wincing.

"Anna…" he warned. She sighed, before turning, and pulling up the top she was wearing. Unable to lift her arms far, it only lifted a little way but it was enough to make him intake a sharp breath and let out a string of expletives.

"Jesus Anna… why didn't you tell me it was this bad?" she pulled her top down, before turning again.

"It looks worse than it is." She told him, suppressing a yawn. He raised an eyebrow.

"Get to bed, get some sleep and I'll send Joan over with your paperwork tomorrow. We'll talk then." He said sternly. "Don't even think about coming in, or I'll stick you on mandatory leave. Clear?"

Anna nodded. "Yes sir." She said. He nodded, and left.

"Get to the hospital. Now." Barolli snapped into his phone, grabbing his jacket and racing out of the station with Barbara hot on his heels. They drove through the traffic, arriving at the hospital which a screech. They bolted through A and E, flashing their badges to gain them access.

"Oi, Barolli!" he heard the shout from behind him, saw Langton striding towards him. "What's happened?"

"Anna got attacked." he said as they three took off.

"Again?" Langton asked, swallowing a curse.

"Yeah. B and E apparently." They arrived at the right room, but got stopped by a nurse.

"I'm sorry, you can't go in there. Family only."

"She doesn't have any family." Langton told her as he flashed his badge. She looked at him, and shrugged before walking off. The three exchanged a glance, and entered. A beat up Anna was lying unconscious on the bed, tubes all over her.

"Oh god." Breathed Barbara, pressing her hand to her mouth. A doctor entered behind them, frowning slightly.

"I'm sorry, only next of kin can be in here." He told them.

"Who's her bloody next of kin?" asked Langton impatiently. The doctor consulted his notes.

"Er… Jack Travis, her father." The three glanced at each other again.

"What?" asked the doctor.

"Jack Travis is dead. Has been for several years." Langton told him, running a hand through his hair. The doctor frowned.

"Well… is she married?" At their head shake, he tried again. "Siblings?"

"None." Said Langton.

"Extended family?"

"Dead Aunt. No one else." Langton stated bluntly. The doctor glanced at the motionless women on the bed.

"Well… someone needs to take responsibility for her. She needs an operation, and we can't do that without a signature." He told them. Langton sighed.

"I'll do it. She'll probably kill me later, but I'll do it." The doctor handed him the paperwork, and after a few minutes of signing and form filling, the doctor began to prep Anna for surgery with the help of the nurses.

"What does she need the op for?" asked Barbara, finding her voice.

"Internal bleeding. She was severely beaten." The doctor left and the nurses wheeled Anna out after him.

Just after a dark haired man walked in, jumping slightly when he saw the three of them.

"Sorry. I thought this was Anna Travis's room…?" he spoke softly, with a slight lilt.

"It is. Who the hell are you?" Langton asked rudely.

"I could ask you the same question." The man commented.

"I'm her boss. I'll ask again, who the hell are you?"

"Her brother. Jamie." The man said, slipping his hands in his pockets and regarding them with curiosity.

"She doesn't have a brother. She's an only child." Langton said stepping closer to the man.

"Biologically, yes." The man agreed. Langton narrowed his eyes.

"Stop speaking cryptically, or I'll have you arrested for obstruction." He threatened.

"I'm not Anna's biological brother, but we were raised together, and I'm closer to her than my biological sister. We discovered in our teenage years that it was easier to introduce ourselves as siblings to save the awkward questions." The man told them.

"Then why aren't you her next of kin?" asked Barolli suspiciously. The man smiled faintly, as if amused.

"I live in Ireland. Bit hard to get here in an emergency."

Langton glanced at Barolli, who shrugged slightly. Finally, Langton nodded.

"OK."

They waited in silence for hours, desperately hoping for news. Finally, Anna was wheeled back in, and the exhausted surgeon flashed a grin.

"Looks like it was a success. You can all stay till the end of visiting hours but then 2 will have to leave. Oh, and as well as the internal bleeding, we removed some old surgical stitches. Think they were left in there by accident- she's lucky they didn't become infected." He left again, leaving some very confused colleagues behind.

"When did Anna have surgery?" asked Langton.

"After her Mum." Answered Jamie, with a 'duh' tone. Noticing their blank looks, he frowned.

"You do know about her mum?" asked Jamie.

"I know she died in a car accident when Anna was 12?" said Langton. Jamie stared at him.

"A car…? No. Um… okay. She's so gonna kill me for this…She wasn't killed in an accident. She and Anna were at home together, while Uncle Jack was working. Two armed men, felons Uncle Jack had put away, broke in. One raped and murdered my Aunt while the other pinned Anna's head still and pried her eyes open so she was forced to watch. Then they raped Anna, and stabbed her with the intent of killing her, but a neighbour heard the screaming and called it in. Uniform arrived, arrested them and got Anna to hospital. It took years before she was anywhere near normal. " Silence echoed around the room.

"Oh my god…" murmured Barbara.

"You never wondered why she was so cut off from everybody?" asked Jamie disbelievingly. "Why she refuses to get close to anyone? She's lost everyone she's ever cared about, bar me, not just her parents and she blames herself. She thinks it's her, that she somehow attracts it."

"Dear god…" muttered Paul. Behind him Langton noticed Barbara was a deathly pale, and he motioned for Paul to take her outside.

"Get her a coffee or something." He said quietly. Jamie followed them out, pulling out his mobile and speaking rapidly in Gaelic into it. Langton took the seat next to the bed.

When he next looked at the clock, he saw over two hours had passed. He blinked, glancing at the sleeping women. Who was no longer sleeping.

"How long have you been awake?" he asked surprised.

"Long enough to know you shouldn't be." Anna's voice was scratchy, and she swallowed thickly. "What happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us." Said Langton gently. She blinked slightly, shifted uncomfortably.

"How bad do I look?" she asked.

"What…. You're asking about that now?"

"You're treating me funny. I figured I must look awful if you're being nice." She grinned at him, and got a small smile back.

"Not exactly… I met your brother." Anna's smile dropped.

"Jamie? He's here?" she asked. "How long was I out?"

"Only a couple of hours. But he… told us about your mum, Anna." He spoke softly, but she cringed away from him.

"Do you want me to leave." She spoke tonelessly, staring at a spot in the distance.

"Leave? No, why would you think that?"

"Because I attract trouble! Anyone who gets close to me ends up dead! Why the hell do you think?" she yelled, glaring at him. Tears ran down her face as she stared at his shocked face.

"Anna… you idiot. No, you try leaving and I'll set Joan at full force on you. And trust me, that's scary. You don't attract trouble Anna. Honey, it's just bad luck. Nothing to do with you." He slipped his hand around hers, and used a finger to wipe the tears from her face. She studied him for a long moment.

"Thank you." Her voice was a whisper; James had to strain to hear it. He slipped an arm carefully around her shoulders and she leaned into him, eyes slipping closed. And when the three others walked in 10 minutes later, both were sound asleep.


End file.
